Often, a purchaser of a garment desires to adjust the appearance of the garment to produce a more aesthetically pleasing shape to the garment or to enhance the appearance or shapeliness of a portion of the wearer's body. For instance, it is well known that bras provide the shapeliness and breast support desired by many women. However, when a bra is worn with certain types of garments, such as summer tops, dresses, and swimsuits, the straps or other such portions of the bra may be visible, resulting in an unsightly appearance. Further, the support structures of the bra, such as underwires, straps, and fasteners, can be uncomfortable.
One solution to these problems is a shelf bra. The shelf bra is a simple bra structure that is sewn into a garment and is usually comprised of an extra layer of fabric having a bottom elastic band, which secures under the breasts and engages the rib cage. Although the shelf bra works for its intended purpose, it is not without problems. For instance, the shelf bra does not provide the support and structure required to shape the breasts to provide a pleasing appearance, tending to instead provide an unflattering flattened appearance to the breasts. Further, the shelf bra does not provide sufficient coverage for the breasts of the user, allowing the shape of the nipple to show through the shelf bra and outer garment.
If a woman does not want to sacrifice shapeliness, coverage and additional support, she previously had to resort to wearing a conventional bra underneath her top or dress. This in turn posed a variety of problems including the unsightliness of exposed bra straps and/or other bra components, as well as the standard discomforts associated with wearing a conventional bra, i.e., underwires, back hooks, tight elastic and inflexible material. An alternative to wearing a conventional bra under the top is to wear removable cups or pads. By doing so, the wearer subjects herself to the possibility of being embarrassed and/or humiliated if the cups become displaced or, even worse, fall out. There is also the option of sewing the cups in place, which requires special skills and equipment that the majority of women do not have the time or the skill to complete.
Further a purchaser of a garment may desire to adjust the appearance of a garment in other ways to produce a more aesthetically pleasing shape to the garment or to enhance the appearance or shapeliness of a portion of the wearer's body. For instance, it is well known that shoulder pads may be added to a garment to enhance the appearance of the shoulders of the user. However, not all garments come with shoulder pads installed therein. Further, even with regard to garments that come with shoulder pads either permanently installed or detachably coupled to the garment, the pads may become lost, such as during dry cleaning, worn out, or the user may wish to change the shape of the pads to provide a different aesthetically pleasing shape than provided by the original shoulder pads. One solution has been to sew shoulder pads in place. However, this requires special skills and equipment that the majority of people do not have the time or the skill to complete.
Thus, there exists a need for a garment pad, such as a bra pad or shoulder pad, that is readily couplable to a garment by a person unskilled in the art of sewing.